“It is encouraging that the Prime Minister has pledged to maintain Britain’s commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on international aid.

“Britain’s development work has a huge impact in improving lives across the world. And as Britain prepares to leave the EU, this work has a big role to play in enhancing our influence on the international stage.

“It is right to acknowledge that aid is not an end in itself and we should always look at how it can best be spent to make countries stable and prosperous, and have a lasting impact.

“We would like to see government increasingly aiming to use this budget to create an enabling environment for civil society so that economic development results in the kind of social structures that have made Britain the vibrant, pluralistic and stable nation it is today. This will leave an even greater long-term legacy both for countries as they develop, and for Britain’s place in the world.”